Dinnertime came rather quickly for everyone on the house. It was rather uneventful, with everyone eating and talking among themselves, as usual during that time. It was quite fulfilling, with a nice menu to choose from as they all ate.
And, at the very end:
"Hope you guys saved some space for desert." Chandler said, as he produced four boxes of golden cardboard, and passed them among the guests. "Ben, this one is all for you." He gave Ben a single box, and Ben looked at it, his eyes widening.
"Oh, donuts!" Benjamin squealed in delight as he popped open the box, reaching out for the donuts that were inside, while everyone else passed the remaining three boxes around, taking a donut each.
"Wow." Judy said, as she looked at the donut that was a bit too big for a bunny like herself. "It looks like you melted a gold bar and poured it over those." She said, as Nick also picked up a single donut from the box, before allowing someone else to take of a donut for themselves.
"It is a recent addition to the list of things sold by my franchise." Chandler said proudly, as everyone looked at the golden donuts they took from the boxes. "They will be properly added to the catalog by next week, and they will cost a thousand zollars a dozen."
Everyone looked with surprise at the horse.
"Wait, for real?" Nick asked, looking at the horse, who nodded.
"Yes, indeed." Chandler said, "Okay, everyone can eat them. Not you, Ogami, those have chocolate."
The wolf was half-way to eating one, when he stopped and lowered the donut. Chocolate was harmful to wolves, as well as to the species that evolved from them, including the domestic dogs. Foxes, like Nick, however, did not had the same problem. In fact, Nick himself was a little bit of a chocaholic, which was why he was glad to have that donut for himself.
And boy, those donuts were good!
"Oh, my goooooooooooosh~! Chandler!" Benjamin said in delight as he ate them. "Those are delicious!"
"Yeah, for real." Josh said, "The best donut I ever had."
"Me too." Marcy said, and Gabe agreed with her as well. Those surely were delicious, and everyone who ate them could agree.
That is, everyone who could feel taste, that is.
"So, those are really good, huh?" Melon said indifferently, as he finished his own donut, and now had taken the one Legoshi got but could not eat due to having chocolate. "In that case, could I have the recipe? I know someone who would like to have it."
"Sorry, but no can do." Chandler said, looking at the hybrid. "The recipe for those donuts is and will always be my personal secret. But, I can tell you that some of the ingredients I use are some of the most expensive of the world. Which is part of the reason why they cost nearly a hundred zoollars each, to begin with."
"And yet, they are being wasted with someone who can't even feel flavor." Charles said, glaring at the hybrid, who only looked back at him, putting the donut on his mouth and taking a rather dramatic bite out of it. Everyone else was looking at the horse, some of them looking like they had something to say.
"Why are you even eating them?" Charles asked, looking at the hybrid, who then said:
"Because otherwise they will be wasted. Few things are worse than wasting food. That's why there are mammals starving out there, you know? Or so my mama told me."
"That's true." Judy said, and everyone continued to look at the hybrid, who shrugged.
"Anyway, someone has to eat it, so I might as well do it." Melor said, taking another bite of the donut, "It is kind of like the same reason why I even want to win the game."
"Oh?" Euphemia asked, "So, you are truly not interested on the prize?"
"Nah." Melor said, finishing the donut in a single more bite, "That chocolate sculpture is not really an encouragement. I can't feel taste, and the last time Legoshi ate chocolate he almost ended on the hospital."
"It's true." Legoshi agreed, "I was four. I remember because grandpa was panicking."
"So, we basically have no interest on that sculpture." Melor said "We just want to win."
"Well, I'm fine if I don't win." Legoshi admitted, still seeming a bit sheepish about everything. Everyone couldn't help but wonder what a pair of curious figures those two were. Marcy, on her end, was still wondering how she could never had heard of such a pair of freelancers in her career...
Soon, everyone had finished the donuts. Including Benjamin, who ate his entire box of donuts by the time everyone else finished their own, granting him a few looks from the people around him. Even because, at some point, it seemed that one of the donuts had simply vanished...
So, with dinner done, this could only mean one thing: it was time to resume their game.
Once more, the group of mammals made their way into the place where they would play the next stage of the game, with Gabe coming right on tow.
Charles complained about the deer coming behind them to the game, but everyone else was fine with him coming. Gabe proved that he could be a very good audience and, after a talk with Ben, discreet too. Seriously, on the previous night he was so quiet that many of the presents, including Charles, had actually forgot that he was in there, watching from a few feet away, and silently hooting for Ben the entire time.
Chandler guided the thirteen mammals through the hallways of the mansion, passing through doors and rooms, until they took a hallway that stretched out for several feet. However, they didn't made it all the way to the end, instead stopping on the middle of the hallway, where a double-door made of glass stood.
"Okay, then." Chandler said, turning to look at everyone. "Now, time for the tenth game of our competition."
"Yeah, we know that already." Charles said, "Just spit it out and say what it is."
Chandler looked at Charles, and he looked like he wanted to say something else to the other horse, but instead he focused his attention on all of the guests as a whole.
"I'm going to tell... if you will be kind enough to follow me into the greenhouse." Chandler said, opening the doors, and looking at the guests. "One at a time. Now, who would like to be the first?"
Everyone looked at the horse, and then at each other. Melor and Hannah, in particular, seemed somehow uncomfortable. They certainly still remembered of the bugs on the greenhouse, and were afraid of maybe running into one if they went inside.
"Don't worry, the bug problem is solved already." Chandler said.
"It is?" Hannah asked.
"Sure is, sweetie. Ogami said that the problem would be solved by night, ain't that right?" Chandler said, looking at the wolf, who seemed a bit lost for a moment, before he answered.
"O-oh! Ah... y-yes. Yes! Solved by night." Legoshi said, looking back at the horse. "The problem is... solved by night."
Some looked at the wolf with raised eyebrows, Hannah, however, didn't seemed to find anything strange going on, for she said:
"In that case, I'll go first."
"Great!" said Chandler, who also didn't seemed to have found anything wrong with the way Legoshi had just said that. Soon, the two horses were making their way inside, closing the doors behind them.
As soon as they left, everyone had their eyes on the wolf.
"Ogami..."
"Eh?" Legoshi said, turning to look at Euphemia, who was looking at him.
"Didn't you said that your trap would work and capture all of the bugs by tonight?" Euphemia asked, and she continued to look at the wolf.
"H-hai. I mean, I did..." Legoshi said, locking eeys with the mare, and then with everyone else who had their eyes on him. "I-it's the night and... the problem is... being solved."
"You mean it hasn't be yet!?" Charles asked, glaring aggressively at the wolf, what caused Legoshi to shrink away. "What, did your spell malfunctioned or something?"
"I-it didn't!" Legoshi said, now trying to defend himself. "The trap is working okay, I made sure of it! I-it just... it just haven't finished yet. It was not something that works from one hour to another. I mean, I'm sure it is working but... it is just... I mean... I-it must be almost finished by now."
Everyone continued to look at the wolf for a few moments in silence, before Euphemia sighed, and then said:
"If Hannah has a panic attack and runs out of the greenhouse because a bug fell over her face then it will be all on you."
Legoshi flinched as he heard that, even though the mare was not screaming or even sounding angry. The mere idea of that happening was enough for Legoshi to understand how serious it was.
"Hai..." Legoshi said, lowering his face and looking at his own feet. Melor, on his own end:
"If that happens to me, I'll be setting the entire greenhouse on fire to kill all the bugs."
"You better not." Euphemia said, turning her gaze at the hybrid, and this time her voice taking an even more serious tone, causing the hybrid to be a little surprised with her.
"You better listen." Charles said, "Those plants might be one of the few things she is actually passionate about. I think she likes them more than she likes me."
"No surprises there." Marcy said, and this caused Charles to glare at her next.
After this, they all just waited outside of the glass doors.
They had been waiting for nearly twelve minutes, when Hannah came out through the doors.
Luckily, for Legoshi, she didn't came out neighing in panic because a bug landed on her face. She simply stepped out and looked at everyone.
"So, how was it?" Marcy asked, and the mare nodded.
"Not bad, actually." Hannah said, "Chandler is still inside, and he is asking for the next one to come."
After a few seconds of silence, Josh volunteered to go next. With this, the cheetah went inside through the glass doors, while everyone else waited on the outside, with Hannah joining them and, understandably, not answering any questions regarding the next challenge, as per Chandler's request.
After a little over ten minutes, Josh came out, and he was panting slightly, it even seemed like he had worked a sweat, as the fur on his leather-clad body was clinging to his body. He announced that it was the turn of the next one. This time Judy was the one who stepped forward and went through the double-doors.
And so, it went like that. One would come in through the doors, spent somewhere between eight and fifteen minutes inside, and then come out through the doors to announce that it was the turn of another one. While they waited, those who hadn't went yet or that had gone already found ways to distract themselves, like playing games on their phones or listening to some music.
One by one, all of the guests had their turn on the game, until there was only one left.
Ben's turn was after Charles, and everyone looked at the horse as he came out of the double glass doors soaking wet and looking pissed. He simply looked at Ben and coldly told him that it was his turn, and Ben, on his form-fitting demon costume, made his way through the double doors while Charles stopped by the side of his wife, who seemed completely indifferent to the fact that her husband was soaked.
One travel through the glass hallway guided Ben to another pair of glass doors, which he opened, and stepped on inside of the greenhouse.
The first thing Ben noticed was that it was significantly hotter in there than on the outside, or even on the mansion. It was a greenhouse after all. The very purpose of a greenhouse is to keep the heat in for the plants during the colder days of the year, namely, during autumn from winter.
The second thing Ben noticed was how big the place actually was.
The greenhouse was one of the parts of the mansion Ben had not properly seen yet. Its angle in relation to the house meant it was, mostly, hid from view to those who were arriving there by car or seeing the house from the side, but it was possible to see it from the right angle. Still, seeing it from the outside and being inside of it were, obviously, two different experiences. And being inside of the greenhouse was like being inside of a personal garden.
The place should be around eighty square feet in total, making it truly seem like an artificial, heat-controlled garden. With all of the plants around making it seem like a small piece of Eden that the family had somehow trapped inside of the place. It had small trees, flowers and even fruits that would never blooming and growing at this time of the year, creating a true show of colors and scents for all of the senses of the ones who entered.
Naturally, the third thing Ben noticed upon arriving was how beautiful the place was.
"Wooooooooooooow..." Was all Ben could really manage to come up with, as he ran his eyes all over the place.
"Impressive, right?" A voice broken Ben out of his reverie, and caused him to turn his attention to the mammal who had been waiting there for him. "You gotta give it to Effie, she really has made this place grow a lot. Hard to believe it started with her having her own little garden back when she was seven." Chandler said, as he admired the place along with Ben. The cheetah had to agree, Euphemia surely deserved a round of applause for her amazing work with that whole greenhouse. He had heard that she had started caring for plants like a hobby, and this hobby turned into an entire new addition to the mansion that was actually a very beautiful garden, complete with veggies and fruits growing alongside tropical flowers. Euphemia could certainly have pursued a career as a botanist, had she not been the one in line to take over the Beastar Corps.
"Now, while I know you want to appreciate the greenhouse while being here for the first time..." Chandler said, "It is better if we instead focus on the game. This has lasted for almost two hours, with everyone taking turns. I really failed to take in account the amount of players."
"Oh." Ben said, "Yeah, right. Let's." He focused on Chandler, putting all of his attention into the task he was going to be give. Whatever it was...
"Okay then." Chandler said, "This next game is another traditional one for Halloween... Pumpkin chase."
The way the horse said it certainly said he expected a reaction from announcing the game. He certainly got one for Ben, who said "ohhhh", and the cheetah wondered if Chandler had got different reactions from the other guests who had come to play the game.
"For this game, I have hidden thirteen small pumpkins all over the greenhouse." Chandler explained. "You will have ten minutes to find all of them, based on the clues I'm giving you in this card." Chandler produced a card from inside his costume, and handed it to Ben. "I really recommend you to try and finding all of them, because of what's inside of them."
"Inside?" Ben asked, and Chandler explained:
"Alibies. Each one of the pumpkins has a card inside. Each one of the thirteen cards has the alibi of one of the suspects of the Blackson's murder for what he had been doing before dinner, you and myself included. So, if you can't find all of the pumpkins before the time ends, this means you will be left without knowing some of the alibies of the suspects for the time when poor Mr. Blackson was inflicted with a deadly curse, like some of our previous contestants did."
Ben took in what was explain to him, and he nodded. Indeed, this kind of information was important on any investigation, as he well knew as a cop. Alibies were the kind of thing that could really rule someone out as a suspect, especially if there were witnesses that validated the alibi. Knowing if someone had an irrefutable alibi was the way to reduce the effective number of suspects, knowing who could or could not have done it.
This meant Ben had to do a real effort to try and get all of the pumpkins. Or as many of them as he could.
And, considering the size of the greenhouse, where he had to look... Ben really wished he had worked more on his cardio.
"Okay, you got the clues." Chandler said, as he lifted his other hoof, revealing a chronometer in there, which he would use to mark the time. "Get ready now..."
Ben instinctively got in position, putting one foot in front and the other behind, and shifting his weight for a sprinting start.
"Set... go!" Chandler said as he pressed the button on the chronometer, starting the counting of time, at the same moment that Ben sprint into running as fast as his species was know to run. Fast enough that it would certainly surprise Charles had he been there to see Ben running like that, despite his big body.
Ben rushed into the greenhouse, at the same time that he looked into the card Chandler had gave him, reading the words into it under the special fluorescent, UV charged lights of the place.
A sloth's favorite snack
For the paws of a fox
Beautiful soothing purple
Intoxicating white
Airborne roots and colorful wings
Stars on the water
Royalty of fruits
Crane of beautiful plumage
A final gift for the departed
The ones who greet the rising sun
Eye with a golden iris
Blue chiming in the wind
Cups of the garden
Okay, those were clues alright. Of course, Ben was not expecting this to be easy. Chandler would not make it easy just for him.
He could only guess that some of them would guide him to plants somewhere within the garden, and he would find the pumpkins in or around them. He just needed to think. And he better do it fast, considering that currently the clock was ticking for him to find as many pumpkins as he could before his ten minutes ran out.
Stopping from his sprinting, already starting to pant a little bit, Ben looked all around. His mind repeated the words he had just read, and he would occasionally stop and read them over, before he once more looked around, passing his eyes over all of the garden as he tried to interpret the clues to guide him to the clues he needed to find. He passed his eyes over the cacti on the corner, over the many ferns over the place, over the small plantation of tulips...
Wait, tulips?
Cups of the garden
Ben rushed in the direction of the flowers, stopping just before stepping on them, and he scanned the area of them. They were all closed, since it was nighttime, but their leaves weren't any les colorful than what they would be during daytime. The sea of colors ahead of Ben nearly made him miss the orange body hidden in between them.
Walking on, being extremely careful not to ruin the plants that Euphemia worked so hard into cultivating, Ben was able to rescue the round object from the middle of the many flowers, removing it with all of the care as if he could disturb and upset the flowers if he was not careful enough. After the long process, Ben now held a small pumpkin on his paws, carrying it as if it was a baby on his arms.
"The first minute is over Ben!" Chandler's voice came from a distance. "Nine more to go!"
Oh, boy. He better hurry up.
With a pumpkin cradled on his arm and the list of clues on his other paw, Ben continued his way throughout the greenhouse, making sure to not let anything escape him as he searched for the rest of the plants that could somehow match the clues. That was when he caught sight of a pond on a corner of the area, big as if it was a small pool.
Stars on the water
Ben rushed there, and stopped just by the pond, looking inside. It was fill with water lilies, the flowers looking like small stars on the middle of the big green plates into the water. Ben paid close attention to all of them, and he could catch a glimpse of something hidden among the edge of the pond, just above the waterline. The cheetah removed the miniature pumpkin hidden in there with all of the care, as he didn't wanted to fall into the water and get soaked.
Was that how Charles got all wet? Ben wondered, as he recovered the pumpkin, and then noticed that the area around the edge of the pond was wet as well. However, there was not much more time to reflect on that, as he still had eleven other pumpkins to find before his nine remaining minutes ran out.
He passed his eyes through the items of the list once more, mentally crossing two of them as the ones he already found, and focused his attention into trying to interpret the remaining ones, to know what he was supposed to look for.
He thought he had gotten the meaning of some of them.
Ben continued his way through the garden, looking for the plants he knew fit on the description of what he was looking for. He found the first one. The small tree was right there, with it's branches full of hibiscus flowers.
A sloth's favorite snack
And how true that was. Sloths went crazy over hibiscus. At least that was what it seemed on the infomercials of the hibiscus-based snacks on television, though Ben really had a hard time picturing a sloth moving fast enough to break the barrier of sound.
Ben ran to the tree, he quickly found the third pumpkin hidden among the foliage of the small tree, now he added it to the ones he was cradling on his arm, before resuming his way across the garden, searching for the next item of his list, and he was able to find it.
He nearly missed that curious plant, but gave it a second glance as he noticed how similar to a bird's head it was. With some flowers on the top that looked like some very colorful feathers.
Crane of beautiful plumage
Ben went in direction of the bird-of-paradise, and found the next pumpkin rather easily, seeing it very close to the root of the plant, nearly like an egg under the mama bird.
Ben took it, and then returned to his search.
After a few seconds of walking, he caught sight of a small area filled with lavender flowers.
Beautiful soothing purple
Ben was about to go after it when he heard Chandler's voice again.
"And this was two more minutes! You got seven left, Ben!"
The cheetah rushed after hearing this, finding the pumpkin on a corner near the plantation of lavenders, and taking it with himself, sprinting across the garden faster.
He passed by a few trees, turning his head to the sides as he searched, and something caught his eye.
The stalk was curve, the bluebell flowers on its length causing it to curve, as the bell-like flowers moved with the slightest breeze.
Blue chiming in the wind
The things jiggled about a bit harder when Ben moved them to look for the pumpkin, and he found it just resting neatly on top of a rock among the many bluebells.
He added it to the growing pile of pumpkins on his arm. Those were six now, what meant seven more to go.
On his way back, Ben passed by another plant.
An orchid plant, with roots sprouting from its stalk and colorful flowers on top.
Airborne roots and wings on top
Ben checked around them and, what you knew, there was the next pumpkin, conspicuously hidden beneath the leaves of a nearby fern.
This made them seven.
"Six minutes remaining!" Chandler's voice called, and Ben went back to his chase.
Like a predators of old looking for a prey to sate their hunger, Ben looked for pumpkins and, like the predators found their food near the things the prey liked to eat, Ben was looking for the things described on the list.
He found the next one purely by accident, when he was coming back his way and he passed his eyes over a small bed of daffodils. Ben knew that daffodils tended to be all yellow, but those, in contract, were of a different breed, as they had white petals on the outside and a yellow center.
Eye with a gold iris
The pumpkin in question was close to the flowers, hidden just around the bed, behind a few rocks.
Now, with eight small pumpkins on his arm, Ben was starting to have some problem. However, he continued to look. He had an idea of what was left for him to find on the list, and he continued to search.
He soon found the next item, as he saw a bunch of foxgloves.
For the paws of a fox
Approaching the plants, Ben was able to find the next pumpkin hidden among the stalks of the digitalis plants, hanging from a small platform.
"Five minutes!" Chandler's voice sounded on the distance, and Ben was quick to snatch the pumpkin and once more rush through the house.
They say that the final ones tend to be the hardest. Ben was not sure about it, because the next one was quite easy to find.
Just when he walked a couple feet away from the foxgloves, Ben caught sight of a whole bush of gardenias.
Ben remembered when his mother told him about gardenias, explaining to him how dangerous they could be because they were poisonous. So, while he could smell them, he should never consume their petals, leaves or even their berries, for they could actually kill him.
Intoxicating white
Ben approached the bushes, and spent nearly a minute looking among them, before he finally found the pumpkin.
Just as Ben removed it from the bush and placed it on is arms, he heard Chandler's voice at the distance saying:
"Four minutes to go!"
Ben was once more in a sprint, as he had a good idea of what he was looking for next. He had to search for a while, but he was able to find out the next item on the list.
A final gift for the departed
The bed of chrysanthemums was around five feet long, and Ben had to go around it as he looked for the pumpkin, in and around the place. The time was ticking, but Ben made sure to keep his head cool and find the pumpkin.
He eventually found it, finally, hidden inside a hollowed-out stump just by the bed of chrysanthemums.
Then Ben went to look for the two final items.
"Three minutes, Ben!"
Ben stopped just on the center of the greenhouse, and he looked at the two last items remaining on the list.
Ben decided to look for the later, and he sprint across the greenhouse.
Left and right.
Up and down he went, looking to all sides, trying to catch a glimpse of the flower he was looking for.
He kept like that until he heard...
"Two minutes left!"
Ben continued looking for nearly fifteen more seconds, before he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, stopping by the side of a bush. Ben was panting and he looked over at the bush.
It was covered in small flowers in button, all seemed like they were tucked in for the night.
Ben blinked, looking at those flowers, and another memory of his life sparked on his mind.
Those plants.
He had seen them before.
On his mother's garden. She taught him about them as well, teaching them how valuable they could be for certain rituals, when prepared nicely to make special potions to induce a state of bliss that helped on... tantric focus.
The one who greets the morning sun
When ben read about that, he had thought about sunflowers. But that was not it! The line was referring to those flowers! The morning glories!
Ben was quickly looking around them, looking out for the pumpkin, and he found it just at the foot of the bush, looking nearly disguised among the many leaves of the bush.
Ben now had the second-to-last pumpkin he needed to find. This only left one to find.
Royalty of fruits
Ben immediately sprint into running.
He went through all of the plants in there, through the flowers and by the pond, and finally arrived at the "farm block" of the greenhouse.
It was a place where one could find all kind of consumable materials. Tomatoes, lettuces, a small orange tree here and there. Some bushes with berries. A whole section seeming to be dedicated exclusively to carrots. The thing that called the most attention, however, was the single tree on the center, with branches extending widely and covering the smaller trees and vegetable areas.
That was a tree of durian.
The king of fruits.
Ben was on the foot of the tree, and he was quickly looking all around the base of the tree, trying to find the pumpkin. It was not there. Maybe in a hole on the trunk? Ben searched all around the tree, but he found no holes big enough to hide a small pumpkin inside.
"One minute left!" Chandler's voice came, and Ben now started to feel the urgency.
Chandler didn't hid it in one of the branches, did he?
Ben was now walking around the tree, rushing all around him and trying to catch a single glimpse of something orange among the green of the leaves. However, he was having no success whatsoever at this.
"Thirty seconds left!" Chandler's voice came, and now Ben was truly starting to feel like panicking.
He sometimes felt like that under pressure, even if it was just a game.
Ben continued to walk around the tree, when he stopped himself just about when he would be trampling the tomatoes.
Ben stopped, and saw that he nearly started stepping on the veggies and fruits growing along the ground. Like the cabbage, the melons, and then...
Ben's eyes widened.
"Ten..." Chandler's voice came. "Nine..."
"...eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fun." The wolverine said, as he leaned over the bars, looking outside as he poked his snout outside. "Echoes knocking on locked doors, all the laughter from before. I'd rather live out on the street, than in this haunted memory. Come on, guys! Sing along!"
The five mammals in there didn't looked like they had any interest on singing along, as they simply continued to look at the two captives that they were now in charge of guarding.
"What about you, Sheppard!?" Chuckles said, referring to the mammal on the cell right by the side of his own, tied to a chair and with that collar still around his neck, preventing him from using any magecraft. The Germanein Shepherd had a very sour look on his face, and he would be glaring daggers at Chuckles had he and the wolverine been able to look at each other.
"Come on, you sang a lot to the Clawhauser guy! Or so have I heard!" Chuckles said, and this caused Sheppard to growl menacingly as he lowered his head, feeling his ears burn in shame as he was remind of it. "I'm sure you can sing well now! Come on, sing with me! Pink's songs are the best! Fuck Gazelle, Pink is the real popstar! Sing along with me now!"
"I've called the movers, called the maids!" Chuckles went back to singing, making everyone roll their eyes, some even groaned, "We'll try to exorcise this place! Drag my mattress to the yard, crumble tumble house of cards!"
"This used to be a fun house!" Someone else sang, but it was not Sheppard, neither any of the guards. "Yeah, I know this song. Pretty good one. Quite the dancy kind."
"Who are you!?" one of the guards demanded, looking over. "How did you got here?"
Chuckles was not able to see who it was, as the figure was on the end of the hallway, and the wolverine could not properly see who it was due to being locked behind the bars. However, he was able to see the guards all turning their attention to the place the voice was coming from. And it was the side opposite to the entrance.
"Who the hell are you!?" One of the guards, a huge water buffalo, taller than Chief Bogo, demanded. "Answer the question, fox!"
"Oh, don't mind me." He owner of the voice, who apparently was a fox, said to the guard, "I'm just here to talk with this guy over here. I'll be leaving soon... and he will be coming with me."
"Yeah, right!" Another guard said, as he pulled a baton, and so did the other guards.
"Okay then." Said one of the guards, who was out of Chuckle's range of view. "I don't know what is your deal, but you are not..." What followed to this was the sound of the fox speaking something, followed by a weird sound, like wind rushing in a place of negative pressure, followed by the shocked screams of the other guards.
"Barry!"
"Where are they!?"
"Where did they go!?"
A few seconds passed, and then the sound came again, like wind escaping from another sealed room into that one. The guards cried out again, clearly confused over something.
"I don't want problems, okay?" The fox said, "So, if you guys will stay out of my way, I won't be making you join your friend."
"Get that fucking pelt!" One of the guards said, and they guards all charged at the fox who was out of sight. Chuckles tried to see through the bars, putting his face as much through the bars as it could, but he could not see what was going on. He could only hear. He heard the screams of the guards as they charged at the fox and tried to hit him. He could hear the fox trying to reason with them. And he could hear that constant and sudden sound of a sudden dislocation of air.
Chuckles continued to hear, noticing that the voices of the guards were vanishing.
Not as "fading into the distance", but more like "disappearing and not being heard anymore" one by one. Each time it was accompany by that familiar sound of a sudden wind dislocation, and by the surprised cries of the remaining guards. Until all he could hear was the trembling voice of a single guard.
"C-c-come here!" The final guard said, trying to sound brave but letting his fear and insecurity obvious. "C-come here now, you freak! Come face me! Goddammit, you stinking pelt! Come here and fight me like a man!"
There was no answer. Only a pregnant silence, like what you hear in a horror movie right before the murderer comes and slices the final victim with an axe.
"WHERE ARE YOU, DAMMIT!?" The guard finally screamed, the panic transpiring on his voice. Another pregnant pause, before the voice of the fox answered coldly:
"Right here."
A surprised exclamation. A sudden movement of wind. Then... nothing.
Silence.
An unnerving silence.
"Hello?" Chuckles said, when he could no longer take the silence. "Hello? Is anyone still there? Hello? Anyone alive?" the wolverine asked, and there was no answer.
Then, a new sound.
Another sudden gust of air, and then, the sounds of the bare feet of a fox touching the ground as he walked. Chuckles only heard, as he suddenly didn't felt like talking. The fox, however, talked.
"Hello, Sheppard." The fox said, and there was a silence, before the shepherd on the other cell answered to him:
"Wilde."
Chuckles listened to it.
Wilde?
But, that guy didn't sounded like any of the Wilde's he ever heard the voice of. Didn't sounded like Lawrence, like Noah, or like Hopps' partner.
Was he another relative?
Wait... could this guy be...?
"I see that you are not doing well on the assignment I gave you." The Wilde fox said, and the dog answered:
"Not my fault."
"Really?" The fox said back, "Then whose fault is it?"
"I'd like to say yours, for not giving me details of who was the one that I needed to go after." Said the dog, "And for not telling me ahead of time what I would be facing."
"Well, I assumed that you would be able to deal with it." The fox said, sounding like he was being condescending with the dog. "After all, you reassured me that you were 'competent and adaptable enough to deal with any problem that came your way', didn't you?"
No answer, and then the fox said again:
"Well, you have assured me that there would be no problem with the mission when I hired you. And look at you now, Mr. Sheppard."
There was more silence, as the dog seemed not to have an answer for that. That was the moment when Chuckles decided to intervene.
"Hey." The wolverine said, trying to push his head as much through the bars as he could, to catch at least a glimpse of this newcomer.
"Hey! Fox!" He said, trying to catch the vulpine's attention. "You... are him, aren't you? You are Cornelius Wilde, right?"
There was an answer:
"Sorry, do you mind?" The fox said, "I'm here trying to have a talk with this charlatan here who took my money."
"Who are you calling charlatan!?" The dog snarled, clearing offended for this, but the fox seemed unimpressed, as he simply answered:
"You, of course."
"Why you..."
"What? Are you saying you are not?" The question came from the vulpine. "That you are not a deceiving propaganda, now that you have been captured? After you spreading to everyone that you could never be caught, by the Association or by anyone else? And that you would never give away your clients, so they could trust you completely?"
Before he could answer, the fox himself said:
"Well, I guess you cannot say those truthfully. Not anymore, at least. Not after you have been captured and after you have told one of your captors everything about the guy who hired you."
The dog had no answer for that, and the fox let the silence hang for a few seconds, before he spoke once more.
"Guess you will no longer be able to brag about having a spotless reputation, huh? I'm pretty sure that the news about this little screw up of yours will be spreading pretty quickly."
"Do you think I liked this!?" Sheppard shot back at the fox, and the way he talked actually made Chuckles recoil on his cell. "Do you think I enjoy what has happened to me!? Do you think I enjoyed being put on a lock by some fat bastard!? And then being chained into a cell and forced to watch some theater of a pair of clowns!? And then having that... that bastard come here and make me..."
The dog trailed, and there was more silence, and Cornelius then said:
"Is that a blush on your face?"
No reply. The fox chuckled.
"Yes, the questioning methods of Joshua Clawhauser are quite infamous, although not everyone who goes through them entirely dislikes them. I'm sure you didn't, at least while it happened."
A growl was heard, low and threatening. However, the fox once more seemed completely unimpressed.
"And there you are." The fox continued, "Trapped into a cell, and unable to do anything but feel anger and regret, and wishing to be out of there so you could take out your frustration on someone."
More growling.
"So... you came here just to rub it in my face for failing the job?" Sheppard snarled, and Chuckles knew only by the voice that the dog was really pissed.
"No." The fox, whom Chuckles now seriously suspected was Cornelius Wilde, said to the dog, still seeming unimpressed by the anger that the dog was projecting. "I came here to offer you help."
A few moments of silence.
"I'm here to offer to get you out of this cell, so you can get back at the ones who put you there and finish the job. So you can, at least, save a little bit of your reputation."
"That is... if you want to accept it."
There was more silence. Chuckles listening carefully, and the few seconds seemed like an eternity before he heard Sheppard's voice:
"Yes."
Chuckles continued to hear, and then he heard Wilde's voice saying a phrase, followed by the same sound of air moving. Then, he heard confused sounds coming from the cell by his side, followed by Wilde's voice telling the dog not to worry.
"H-hey!" Chuckles said, "Hey, what is going on?"
No one answered his question, but he could hear noise coming from the cell by his side, before he once more heard Wilde's voice, saying the same phrase he had just said less than a minute ago:
"Turn inside out, my black heart."
Once more that noise of air suddenly moving, and then silence once more.
"Hello?" Chuckles said, "Hey, you guys still there? Anyone there? Hello?"
But no one answered.
There was no one there left to answer. Not the guards. Not the fox who was just there. Not even Sheppard.
His cell laid empty, with only the empty chair, with the ropes and the collar laying on top of it.
Chandler calmly made his way across the greenhouse, moving in direction to the back, where the orchard was. As he got close, he was able to see a red figure laying under their durian tree. As he got closer, he could take a better look on the figure.
Benjamin was panting deeply, his chest and stomach inflating and deflating with each hard breath he took. He had a bunch of small pumpkins fallen by his side, and one clutched on one of his arm. As he approached, Chandler made a quick count on the fallen ones, and he counted twelve. With the one on his arm, those were thirteen pumpkins.
Ben had managed to find them all.
For a long moment, they just stayed there. Ben taking deep breaths to compensate for all of the running he had been doing, while Chandler stood there looking at the cheetah, before he said:
"Ben?"
"Huh?" The cheetah breathlessly replied.
"You got a hundred zoolar donut on your neck." The horse said, and Ben looked at him, before using his free paw to feel around his neck.
"More to the side." Chandler said, gesturing to his own neck as he said that. Ben followed his instructions, and he eventually touched something smooth. He pulled out the donut from the fold on his neck, and looked at the golden pastry.
A smile formed on his lips.
"Oh, so that's where you went." He said, and ate the donut. The sugar entering his bloodstream was more than welcome after the great effort he had just made. Chandler could only chuckle as he looked at his friend.
"So, I see you found all of them." Chandler said to him, "Only you and four others did."
"Yeah..." Ben said, "The 'royalty of fruits' thing nearly got me." Ben admitted, "I would have spent the rest of the time running around the tree trying to find the pumpkin."
"Yeah, Charles did that for nearly five minutes before he gave up." Chandler said, smiling as he remembered how funny it was seeing that from a distance, and having Charles yell at him from a distance if the pumpkin was really there.
"That was really clever." Ben said, remembering how he found the last pumpkin. The one that was currently cradle on his arm.
It was not on the tree, but among the spiky crowns of the pineapples.
Royalty. Crowns. Pineapples.
Quite clever, really. Ben could totally see how some may have failed to see it, in favor of the "king of fruits".
"So, since you found all of the pumpkins..." Chandler said, "You have the right to know the alibies of everyone."
Ben nodded, and then he turned his attention to the pumpkins he gathered on his mad ten minutes dash. Starting with the one that he found among the pineapples. Surprisingly, it was Ben's own alibi, written in an envelope that he found once he removed the top of the pumpkin:
Benjamin Clawhauser – Was on the east wing having a video conference on his tablet with the lawyer team and private investigator he hired to gather evidence against Blackson and take him to court for vandalizing his business. Remained in such conference until it was time for dinner. A maiden and two butlers were present on the room, and Yahya Manechester was on the same room reviewing documents and hearing the entire thing.
On the back of the envelop was a layout map of the first floor of the mansion, with dots depicting Ben's position in relation to the position of Blackson on the mansion during the hour before dinner.
It was pretty far from him. And he had the testimony of Yahya Manechester himself within the game, as well as of other servants.
"So... I didn't do it?" Ben as at the horse, how shook his head.
"No, you didn't." Chandler clarified. "I just can't picture you as a killer. Not even on a game."
The two friends looked at each other, and Ben couldn't help but smile a little bit, before he turned his attention to the other pumpkins.
One by one, he picked them up and removed their lids, finding envelops inside of them.
Tyson Tigereye – Had been rehearsing dance moves on his bedroom from 18:10 to 18:35, came out to look for Gazelle. Met her on the hallway at 18:47 and saw her distressed. Wanted to go after Blackson after hearing how he harassed her, but Gazelle stopped him. He remained with her until dinner.
Marcy Foxgrove – Was seen by a maid while she was looking at one of the paintings at the North wing at 18:14. Claims to have walked around the North wing of the house, looking at the artworks, until it was time for dinner. The butler who found her at 18:57 at the North wing, and escorted her to the dinner room.
Euphemia Manechester – Was talking with a servant from 18:20 to 18:35 about details of the upcoming Halloween party. Looked from her husband, arriving at the living room at 18:41. Left the room at 18:42, as her husband was not there, she eventually found with her brother on the adjacent room at 18:47, and they both engaged in conversation until they were call to dinner at 18:54.
Joshua Clawhauser – Had a talk with his twin brother at 18:20. Went back to his bedroom, and only came out at 18:50. Came down at 18:53, and was found by a servant, to whom he asked where Blackson was, but instead said it was time for dinner and that Blackson would be at the table, and went with him.
Nick Wilde – Spent the evening from 18:15 to 18:30, reading a book, while two maids were cleaning the place. Left the room at 18:31. Was seem by another servant coming out of a hallway that leads to the living room at 18:48, claimed to have just came out of the bathroom, as something was "not agreeing with his stomach". Remained on the room until he was call to dinner at 18:55.
Charles Manechester – Claims to have remained on his cellphone checking his stocks on his phone from 18:15 to the moment he was call for dinner, on a room that was an entire hallway away from the bar. Was seen by servants at 18:28 and then again at 18:48, before being called for dinner at 18:55.
Legoshi Ogami – Talked with Horne after he found Blackson on their bedroom and punched him. Went after Blackson to apologize. Arrived on the living room just after Gazelle left. Wanted to talk to Blackson, but saw his angry expression, and decided to wait until he had calmed down. Claims to have forgotten about Blackson he engaged in conversation with Hannah Hoofson at 18:35, but claims to have felt a "suspicious smell" somewhere past 18:40.
Chandler Manechester – Talked with the head butler from 18:20 to 18:23. Then met with his mother at 18:27 and talked with her until 18:35, when they met with his father. Talked with both his mother and father from 18:35 to 18:40, when he went off through a hallway. Was found by his sister in an adjacent room to the one of the bar at 18:47, and they both remained on the room until they were called for dinner at 18:54.
Judy Hopps – Was on her bedroom since Blackson arrived on the mansion. A servant had to go tell her it was time for dinner and to escort her to the dinner room. Claimed to be having a call with one of her relatives back in Bunny Burrow, but refuse to allow someone to check her cellphone.
Hannah Hoofson – Remained on her bedroom from 18:10 to 18:25, before coming out, saw by a few maids who were cleaning. Went downstairs, and found Mr. Ogami at the window, looking at a few bugs. They talked about insects from 18:35 until they were call to dinner, just six feet away from the bar where Blackson was, but neither of them claim to have seen or heard anything suspicious, as they were at a distance and distracted with each other.
Melor Horne – Had a fight with Blackson at 18:15. Had a talk with Ogami at 18:18, before the wolf left. Was only seem again at 18:57, when Ogami, Hoofson and the butler who was coming with them found him on the hallway leaning over a window. Claims to have roamed the house all that time.
Gazelle – Met with Blackson on the bar at 18:30, had a discussion when he tried to make a pass on her, and ended slapping him on the face and left. Met with Tyson Tigereye right after leaving the bar, at 18:36, and he remained by her side all the time.
Each card, much like his own, included a diagram that depicted the alleged position of the mammals in relation to Blackson on the moment of him being afflicted by the curse, with multiple dots depicting the positions of the suspects during different times of the day. Blackson being always depict by a black dot, while the suspects were each depict by a different color.
It all worked together to create a general picture of what had happened during the minutes before and after Blackson being cursed. The more meaningful time was between 18:30 and 18:45, which was when Blackson had been actually curse by the sting of that bug. And those alibies now opened new grounds for the investigation.
Some just couldn't have done it for being too far, or due to have been seen by witnesses on the moment it was happening. Others, however, were still suspects, either for not having an alibi of for having literally being a few meters away from Blackson.
Chandler himself could have done it, considering that he was on the adjacent room from Blackson on the moment he was curse.
Anyway, Ben knew that those alibies were just a part of the game.
"So, I hope this really helps you." Chandler said, to what Ben looked back at him and nodded. "Now, we better go meet with the rest of the guests, right? They are waiting for us. And you can leave the pumpkins there, I don't need to hide them again."
Ben nodded, and Ben was soon taking the hoof of his friend and getting up. They were both walking back in direction to the door of the greenhouse, when Chandler stopped, his ear twitching.
"Did you heard that?" Chandler asked, and Ben looked at him. Suddenly, a chill ran down Ben's spine, and he looked back just in time to...
"Look out!" Ben pushed Chandler out of the way just as a glowing trident passed zooming between them. Chandler was shocked, but he was soon recovering. They both turned to look and they were surprise by what they saw.
Sheppard was walking to them, an angry expression on his face as he materialized yet another trident on his paw, and continued in direction to them with firm steps.
"Run!" One of them said, and Ben had not been sure if it had been Chandler or himself, and the two were on their feet and rushing together to the exit. However, Sheppard was not having any of it. He threw another trident, and this one landed by their feet.
The explosion sent them both flying. Chandler landed several feet to the side, while Ben landed nearly ten feet ahead, both of them left dazed by this.
Ben was recovering faster, and he was slowly getting back up, with the help of his wobbly arms. He looked back, and his heart sank as he saw Sheppard coming his way, one trident in each one of his paws.
"You know, I would prefer if it was that muscular brother of yours." Sheppard said to the cheetah as he walked in his direction. "I'm still pissed at him because of the thing with that pink cigar." The expression on the dog's face made it clear he was mad about it. "But, since you are the one around, I'll just take it out on you instead. I'm also mad at you for capturing me in the first place. You made me look real stupid."
Ben was getting back on his feet, and the dog said:
"What? Running away? Well, in that case, I guess I'll have to take it off on your horse friend."
Ben looked back, to see the dog turning his attention to Chandler, who was still dazed, groaning on the ground.
NO!
"Stay away from him!" Ben said, turning all of his attention to the dog, who smirked as he saw that he had captured the fat cheetah's attention. Ben was quick to act, scanning the area around, and then selecting something to use as a weapon.
He used his prana vibration to grasp on a nearby stone pillar and, with a single fling of his arm, sent it flying at a high speed at the dog. Sheppard was ready, though, and destroyed the pillar mid-air with a single swing of one of his tridents. Ben tried the same thing with a rock. Then with a dead log. Each time, Sheppard would just destroy the object coming his direction with a swing of his tridents, sometimes causing a loud boom as the object was trash into tiny pieces.
As they fought, Ben found himself moving back, sometimes even running, always making sure that Sheppard was coming his way, and away from Chandler, who was still recovering. After all, if they were going to fight, better to be away from where Chandler was.
Of course, Sheppard would not just limit himself to just intercept Ben's attacks. He would attack as well, tossing his tridents at the cheetah. Ben was only barely able to avoid the explosions, which destroyed the greenhouse more and more the more the dog threw them. Ben knew that Euphemia would be really upset when she saw the damage done to her precious plants.
Ben, on his end, tried to fight as he could. He used his magecraft to fling things in direction of the dog, and even tried a few curses that he remembered from heart. However, it has been seven years since he last engage in a mage combat. He was severely out of practice in matters like that. Sheppard, on his end, was a seasoned freelancer used to fight other mages on his line of work. As a result, there was a clear difference between the skills of the two, which became more evident the closer from Ben Sheppard got, as Ben saw himself having to dodge more and more tridents tossed on his direction, what caused even more destruction.
Ben was seeing himself only barely dodging some blows from the flying tridents. Some of them came dangerously close to him. So close that their ripped his costume, and also some fur from his body. Luckily, none of them were actually causing any damage to the cheetah. However, they were starting to get too close for comfort. Especially the one that came dangerously close by his head, enough for him to hear the zooming of it near his left ear, before he stopped as the trident exploded ahead of him.
"Are you guys really not hearing this?" Judy said, as her ears picked up the noises coming through the glass doors. "Do you really don't hear anything!?"
"I'm not hearing it." Melor said, looking at the glass door. "No explosions. Do you guys hear any explosions?"
"All I know is that they are taking way too long." Charles said, checking on his watch, only to find out that it had stopped, causing the horse to snort. "The fatso must be taking too long to find out the clues and Chandler must be giving him extra time. I can totally see him doing-"
Charles didn't said anything, because then everyone heard something. The sound was muffle due to the two pairs of glass doors between them, but it was still possible to hear it, especially because it made the glass doors rattle.
It was the sound of an explosion.
"I heard that." Josh said, as he and others got ready.
"Everyone go back to the living room." Judy said, as she and Nick both got ready. Ever since that night, they have been walking around with their dart guns hidden inside of their costumes, and they both had them on their paws already.
While some of the guests were all moving away from the place (Charles being the one running the fastest), others went through the doors.
Ben had recovered from the blast that happened ahead of him, and left yet another small crater on the ground of the greenhouse. He turned back, only to find Sheppard charging at his direction, two new tridents on his paws. Ben went into fighting stance by pure instinct, and he soon was on a paw-to-paw combat with the dog.
Ben was glad that he had, at the very least, kept his practice in direct combat as a cop, otherwise he would not have been able to keep up with the blows that the dog was trying to give into him. Ben was able to dodge, block ad redirect the swings of the tridents of the dog, and he eventually tried to move forward when he had an opening, seeing if he could put the dog into another hold like last time.
However, this time the dog was expecting for this. He grasped Ben's wrist on the moment the cheetah tried to grasp his', saying "not this time" as he showed a toothy grin to the feline, and then tried to flip Ben over. Ben, however, showed to have a surprising agility, as he landed on his feet, and then started a complex dance with the dog as each tried to land blows on the other. Eventually, Ben had managed to get the advantage. However, he did it using a little dirty trick.
He used his prana vibration to control a stone slab of the path he and the dog were standing, and made it move right under the dog's foot. The canine lost balance, and Ben used this chance to beat one of the tridents out of his paw, sending it flying and sinking into the ground a few feet away from them. With this opening, Ben tried to deliver a punch to the dog's face, putting as much force as he could into the punch, so he could make as much damage as possible.
However, the punch didn't connected. Ben's fist stopped in midair just an inch from the dog's head, as the cheetah felt something suddenly tightening around his wrist.
Ben's eyes widened, while the dog smirked. He then threw his other trident to the side, making it sink into the ground as well. That was when ben felt something tightening around his other wrist. And if kept tightening, and then pulling. His arms were force to the sides, as it felt like something was pulling his arms by the wrists, like a piece of rope.
Ben blinked, looking in confusion at his immobilized arms. He took a few seconds to understand what was going on.
Prana. Lines weaved from pure prana. Tied around his wrists and connection them to the handles of the tridents now on the ground. The dog may have tied them around his wrists while they fought, and now the lines tightened, pulling his arms to the side and preventing Ben from using them.
Sheppard smirked at the cheetah was forced on his knees by the pulling of the prana ropes.
"Now." Sheppard said, materializing yet another trident on his paw. "What to do with you next?"
"BEN!" A voice came. Chandler was running in direction to the two. "Leave him alone!"
"Hey!" Another voice said, this time coming from behind the dog. Immediately, Sheppard turned holding Ben's head by the skin on the back of his neck and putting his trident dangerously close to the cheetah's throat, just as Josh, Marcy, Legoshi, Melor, Gabe, Nick and Judy all arrive.
"Ben!" Gabe cried out, looking in horror as he saw that blade so close to Ben's neck.
"Hold it!" Someone said, and then there was a standstill.
"Drop the blade and step away from the cheetah!" Judy said, pointing her dart gun at the dog, just like Nick. The others stood glaring at the dog, in particular Josh and Marcy.
"How did you got out of the dungeons?" Melor asked, seeming like he was pretty chill with everything.
"Step away from my brother." Josh said, stepping forward. "Right now."
"Or what?" Sheppard growled back at him. "You will use another pink cigar on me?"
"I might." Josh said, his glare pure murder. "And this time, I assure you are not going to enjoy it."
As they continued, Chandler looked around. He reached out for the stones on the path inside of the greenhouse, and he removed it from the ground, and held it above his head, as he approached the dog.
"You don't want to do that, horse." Sheppard said, looking over his shoulder. "I'll pierce this cat's windpipe before you can touch me."
This made Chandler stop on his tracks, and it made Josh let out a furious growl.
"Do that, and you won't leave this place alive." Marcy said, taking a step forward, and raising her paw. Her arm lit up as her magic circuits activated and her paw got into a certain position, as she aimed straight at the dog's head, ready to act if he as much as scratched Ben's skin.
"You all better stand down now." The dog said to all of the mammals around him. "In case you haven't noticed." He pressed the trident into Ben's skin, barely not strong enough to drawn blood. "I'm the one with the leverage here."
For a long moment, everyone just stood there, no one daring to move, but all wanting nothing more than to do something. At the very least, to break this standoff currently happening.
Eventually, someone made the first move.
But it was not Josh. Nor Gabe. Nor Marcy, Judy, Nick, Chandler, Melor, Legoshi, Sheppard, nor even Ben.
It was someone who came, literally, crashing in, shattering the glass walls of the greenhouse, and landing heavily into the grass amidst the broken glass.
Everyone looks to the side, in time to see the big mammal with thick fur standing back up on all fours, looking at Sheppard's direction with hate on its eyes.
It was the Hound.
And it growled at the dog, showing off all of its sharp teeth.
"You again!?" The dog said at him, distracting himself for a split second. This was enough for Marcy. The fox/cheetah hybrid aimed at the dog. At his paw. Her other paw reached out, making a motion of grabbing, pulling back, and then letting go.
Something flew out of her stretched middle finger. A projectile made of pure prana on the form of an arrow. It flew through the air, and hit the trident Sheppard was holding. The suddenness of the attack made the dog lose his grip on the trident, as the shockwave of the impact travelled up his arm. His fingers felt like they had been shocked, as the trident dropped to the ground.
On that moment, the Hound stroke.
It rushed towards at an impressive speed, and grasped the shepherd by his shirt, pulling him away from the cheetah, and slamming him into the ground. Then spinning him and tossing him into a nearby tree, before jumping after him.
Meanwhile, the others rushed to Ben, and they soon started to help him. It was Marcy who managed to free Ben, and the cheetah massaged his wrists as everyone helped steer him away from the battle.
Meanwhile, the Hound and Sheppard were fighting. The dog materialized more tridents to attack the big monster, while the Hound attack with its claws, delivering blows that snatched the tridents away, and the dog would immediately materialize others and continue attacking the hound. All the while, everyone was watching, ready to do something in the case one or both of them turned their attention on them.
The battle continued, as the two tried their best to deliver blows into each other. The Hound had managed to make some serious blows into the dog, like a swipe of the claws that tore the shirt he wore and left behind bleeding claw marks on his chest, or the bite that broke his forearm when he tried to thrust his trident into the attacking monster.
"Just what the fuck are you!?" Sheppard growled, as he tried to thrust a trident on the head of the beast, only for it to grab it with its forepaw, wrapping its fingers on his wrist. The creature growled itself, speaking through the mouthful of arm:
"The nightmare of the Manechester..."
The dog snarled, and then brought his knee up, hitting the Hound on the throat. This caused the bigger creature to let go of the dog's arms, as it stepped back, massaging its throat. Sheppard was using this chance to use his arm that was still good to try tossing the trident on the thing, the weapon already glowing with accumulated prana into it. However, the Hound was faster.
The beast raised a paw, pointing a single clawed finger at the dog. Something flew out of the finger at blinding speed, and hit the dog on his shoulder. Blood sprayed out as the thing pierced right through the shoulder of the dog. An expression of pain filled the dog's features as his lips curled into a snarl and a whimper escaped his throat. He stumbled down, looking at the creature, who snarled back at him.
That freak had already scored some serious hits on him. His left arm was now completely useless, and this battle was depleting his mana. And there were still all of those guys out there. Sheppard was smart enough to know when was the time to turn tail and flee. Now was one of those moments.
"This ain't over!" The dog said, as he tossed his trident. It smashed through the glass of the wall, creating a huge opening. Then, by sending a lot of prana into his legs, Sheppard gave a powerful leap, cutting the distance from where he was standing to the opening, and disappearing through it and into the night.
The Hound looked at the place the dog fled through, still snarling as it looked at the opening. For a moment, it seemed that the creature was going to chase after him. However, it seemed like it had changed its mind. Instead, it turned to look at the mammals who were all looking at it, most of them looking like they were ready for a fight.
The Hound started to take slow steps on their direction, and this caused them to be even more on the edge.
"Don't move!" Judy said, pointing a dart gun straight at the creature, along with Nick. "Stop and put your paws in the air!" Everyone else was ready as well. Marcy was now pointing her paw at the Hound, and so did Josh had his entire attention on the being. Gabe stepped forward, putting himself between the Hound and Ben (and Chandler too), as he snapped his hooved fingers, creating flames on his palms. Melor, on his end, slammed both of his hooves on the ground, what caused the soil to gather and transform, until it turned into an axe, which the hybrid was now holding with both his hooves, and he looked ready to start swinging it like a maniac on the moment the Hound started to attack. Even Legoshi looked like he was ready for a fight.
The Hound stood a few feet away from them, and they remained on what seemed to be yet another standoff, with Judy still ordering the Hound to surrender, when suddenly...
Legoshi's ears perked, as a sound came from his pocket. He dove a paw on it, and pulled out a cicada, which was chirping madly on his paw.
"Oh boy..." Legoshi said, "Uhh, could you guys all hold it for a moment? I won't take long, I swear."
With this, the wolf took off, surprising, even shocking, everyone around, as they looked at the form of the wolf, who walked to a certain are, and then turned to the right. Everyone just stood in silence, and Melor then looked at the hound.
"Soooo... you're a hound, right?" Melor said, looking at the Hound, who looked back at him. "You got it from your father's side or your mother's? I mean, you must have gotten it from someone, right? I mean, I know I'll be beating you shortly, probably, but that's no reason why we cannot know each other, right?"
More silence followed, as now everyone was looking at the gazelle/leopard hybrid. A few more seconds passed, before the wolf returned, now carrying a wooden box with him.
"It caught all of the bugs." Legoshi explained. "They are all in here."
"Good. Keep them inside and away from me." Melor said, looking at his friend, before looking back at the Hound. "So, I believe we were about to go into a fight, right?" he adopted a fighting pose once more, ready to start swinging his axe. The Hound looked back at the hybrid, and then, let out a sound that one could interpret as scoffing.
"No." The hound said, making everyone look at it. "I'm not fighting you." It looked at all of you. "I'm not on the mood for fighting now. I'm done for tonight."
Everyone heard it, and the stance of the Hound really made it seem that it was being honest as it spoke. However, everyone was still in on their toes and ready to fight. Especially when they saw that the Hound had its attention at Ben, as it gave a step on the cheetah's direction, prompting Gabe to cause the flames on his palms to burn stronger, and give the Hound a warning to "stay back", which the creature promptly ignored, acting as if the deer was not even there as it focused all of its attention on the cheetah.
"Are you alright, Benji?" The Hound asked, sounding surprisingly gentle with its gruff body, as he looked at the cheetah. Ben seemed surprised.
"O-oh. Y-yeah." Ben said, "I didn't got any wounds. But... how do you know my name?"
The Hound looked at him for a few moments, and then it smiled.
"Why, because I learn what I can about the ones that cross my way. And never forget the ones that catch my eye..." It said, "You pudgy kitty."
Ben stopped, blinking as those words sparked something on his mind.
A memory. Of five years ago. When someone said those exact same words to him. Looking at him the same way the Hound was.
With the very same eyes.
No. This can't be. He... he's dead... right?
Ben looked at the "Hound", finding its eyes to be more and more familiar with each passing second.
"... Angus?" Ben finally asked, making the ones around to look at him. Chandler, in particular.
"What?" The horse said, looking at Ben, and then at the Hound. Meanwhile, the creature smirked, and it stepped back, its hooves clopping on the ground, before its body started to twitch. Soon, the twitching turned into spasming, and the growls and snarls of the Hound were hear, as it doubled over.
"What's going on?" Judy asked, seeing the Hound toppled over and fall to it's knees. "What is happening to him!? Is he having an epileptic attack?"
"No." Marcy said, looking at the creature. "He is transforming back."
Just as she said that, a new sound could be hear coming from the direction of the creature. A "crack" and "pop" sound, which sounded horribly like bone breaking and rearranging. The sounds accompanied the changes on the body of the creature, as it changed. Its legs and arms shortened a little bit. Its muzzle changed shape as its teeth became blunter. Its wide chest crumpled over itself, as it got smaller. Its claws changed into hooves. Even its tail changed. Meanwhile the thick fur on its body was receding, revealing what seemed to be another fur hidden beneath it. It was nearly like seeing a snake mold its skin.
Eventually, the Hound was left panting, with the "molded pelt" laying on top of him, covering his head and shoulders.
Everyone looked at him.
"That was gross." Melor said, referring to the physical changes that happened to the creature.
Meanwhile, the figure who once was the Hound, reached out with a hooved hand, and removed the pelt from his head. He stood, revealing himself to be naked, what caused Judy to gasp and blush. Nick, on his end, looked at the mammal with wide eyes, and so did Ben and Chandler.
"N-no way..." Chandler said, as he and everyone looked at this new mammal, who had just finished using the pelt he "molded" around his waist, using it as an improvised covering for himself, in a manner similar to how someone ties a towel around their waist, and stood proud for everyone take a good look at him.
That horse was as tall as Yahya, and his fur was of a dark, chocolate-shade of brown on most of his body, save for his muzzle, face and bellow his elbows and knees. His mane was of a dark coloration, as well as his tail, both with a streak of golden-blonde fur amidst the black. He had a great amount of softer fur (a feathering, if you prefer) around his hooved hands and feet, which was as white as the fur underneath them. His body was strong and muscular, especially on his broad chest, thick arms and legs and on his strong neck. His eyes were indigo, and they focused on the mammals before him, the cheetah, in particular, as he opened a smile on his muzzle, which now had normal horse teeth.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Ben?" He asked, his voice deep, but now sounding like a normal voice, not the guttural, growling one that he had just a few moments ago while he was the Hound.
Ben said nothing, and he only continued to look at the horse with shock.
"Ben, do you know this guy?" Marcy asked, looking at her little brother while she still kept the horse on her aim.
"Just who are you?" Judy asked the horse, still pointing her dart gun at him and ready to shot if he made anything that could be consider an aggression.
"Angus..." Came Nick's voice, causing his partner to look at him, while he continued to look at the horse. "Angus Manechester."
Judy blinked, and she looked back at the horse, and so did everyone else now. The horse only chuckled.
"Yeah, that's right." The horse said, and then looked at Chandler, who continued to stare at him as if he was seeing a ghost.
"Hi, little brother. How have you been?"
And this concludes this chapter.
It was a chapter that I have been looking forward to, and I'm not sure if I did a good job on it or not. I always think that I could have done better once I'm done with a chapter. Hope it is good enough for my readers, at least.
And, as you saw, I just introduced a new original character of the NaZooverse. You will learn more about him on the next chapter.